November SOTM

My sample features the Expressives (tm) Font CD volume II -- "Shiver". I also used Liquid Applique and colored it after heating with a Bamboo marker.

The scarf and hat colors are Bamboo, Twilight, and Outdoor Denim, and are popped up (as is the nose). Our blending pen was used to highlight the right side of the snowman. And, finally, Liquid Glass was used to highlight the word "melt."

If I were to do this again, I'd put the words down below the background and textured paper, which is Aspen. :)

Technique: Sponging Paper Edges

This week I decided to try using the Cermacoat paint with re-inker. I had created fellow consultant Antoinette Herrin's 50 card class using Aspen paper and also using Floral Tapestry. While I liked the easy of the workshop, I wasn't thrilled with the starkness of the white background. I did learn that the stamped image is also an important (besides the paper) for the cards to look great without a lot of fuss. Enter the technique of the week.

I added a lot of Outdoor Denim Re-inker to the Cermacoat paint. I didn't add enough to get the paint to get really dark. Then I started applying it with a sponge. After a few cards, I thought, "Why not try a paint brush?" I took out the fanned brush and added more strokes to the inside of the cards.

All in all, the technique was easy. I would go back and add a little more pizazz to the cards themselves. Here the paint was added to the edges and to the middle of the card.

I added some paint brush strokes -- just the tips--to the white of this card. The stamp here is November's Stamp of the Month, All Decked Out. Markers of Bamboo and Outdoor Denim were used for the top hat.

Here I added more strokes from the paint brush.

Just around the edges on this card.

Lastly, I added some sponging to the white of this card. I added some more to the bottom right corner to add some interest. One thing for sure is that you can't really shade paint.

Magic Moments Layout

I've rotated the left page to accommodate a horizontal picture, and I've eliminated one strip. I didn't want my pictures to small enough to crop to 4"x3", so I cropped them all to be 4"x4". I've used Simple Pleasures Paper pack which utilizes Cocoa, Desert Sand, Bamboo, and Twilight colors. The fonts used were Extreme, Giggle, Tiny Typewriter, and Classmate. :)

creepy cobweb card

I know this doesn't fit this week's challenge, but this is my new workshop card and I was pretty pleased with it. I used the Creepy Cobweb Stamps, enchanted paper, black, sunflower, and autumn terracotta inks. I sponge blended Sunflower and autumn terracotta inks onto the diamensional flower then stamped the web image. For a 3-D effect I stamped the web image first directly onto the card then lined up the dimensional piece over top of it. When I stamped the spider with the web string I curved the stamp on the block, which is a technique I really wanted to show my customers.

October SOTM with Magic Moments Paper

This was my SOTM Swap, along with using it for a gathering make and take. I used Magic Moments Paper, Colonial White CS, Z2130 Indian Corn Blue Ink, and gold brads. I loved being able to show my customers that you can create the cards out of one sheet of B & T by using the reverse side, especially now that its designed too. You can't tell maybe from the picture, but I only cut slits in the stamped image and used it like a ribbon slide.

Pansy Purple, Sunflower, Black Color Challenge

This is our 3rd annual Halloween block party's invitation. The Enchanted Paper makes this come together in a snap. The stamp sets are Hallow-Scream (words) and retiring Happy Haunting.

The ink is Pansy Purple for the words and Black for the spider and web. I used a black pen to attach the spider to the web.

Finished card size is 4"x4".

Annotations -- October SOTM

I made this Pocket Greeting Tag (tm) 8"x3.5" card without the fold. I figure the person would write the note on the pull-out tag!

I thought I was being original by cutting the top off the tag stamp. However, when I later looked at the samples in the back of the book, I found that I wasn't original. Oh, well.

The paper was Magic Moments (I love this paper!) and Chocolate Textured CS, with a little Sunflower CS. The inks are Hollyhock, Chocolate, Sunflower, and Indian Corn Blue.

The "thank you" frame is 3-D set upon Sunflower CS corner rounded to. I put B&T behind and threaded basic floss through the button on the tag. I used a hollow concho for the hole up above. And finally, a pewter photo clip holds hollyhock twill ribbon. :)

October Stamp of the Month

I will be honest.... when I first saw this stamp of the month, I wasn't all that excited about it. Thankfully I'm in a monthly swap and I had to pull it out and work with it and now I absolutely love it!!

You can't tell in the picture, but I used the dotted line stamp to create a background on the hollyhock band.

The frame in I used would be perfect for a Christmas ornament!! It is symmetrical so you can stamp two and glue them back to back. Add a cute photo and you are done!!!

This is definately a must have set. I have another card I made, but apparently it missed the photo session. I'll try to post it this weekend.

Enjoy!
Dawn

Catching Up...

Ooops, busy month! Still getting used to bike commuting. I'm loving it, but it takes longer and then I'm wiped out at night and I keep forgetting to take pictures so now I'm catching up on all the challenges for September...and hopefully I'll get back on track for October...

For those of you who purchased the September SOTM, here's another sample for you.

Color challenge: We used the new colors this month. I say we, but technically I did nothing...hahaha... But in the interest of fulfilling my obligation to the design team I did beg my good friend Candace to allow me to post her cards. I loaned her my stamp pads for a workshop and she made me copies of the cards they did. AND they were the same colors as the color challenge. How cool is that?

I did the layout challenge, but I took pictures with my phone and they didn't come out so hot. I think my camera is on it's last legs so hopefully I can get this figured out...

Stay tuned. I have my October SOTM to post in a minute!
Dawn

September's Card Workshop

Call me crazy, but this month we made two sets of cards. I should have had my guests make two of the same cards...instead we used two different papers. I had the Caprice paper cut before I received our new paper. I love our new paper, so our second set was with Magic Moments. I had a feeling that my guests weren't going to finish everything because the workshop was cutting intensive. Therefore, each guest went home with the Caprice papers and stamped images with instructions of finishing. Two of the cards were inspired by Starr Nelson and the others by corporate.

Life's creation card

I made this card using our newest colors and stampsets premiering at convention.

D1304 Life's Creation
Tulip
Sorbet
Juniper (marker)
Popdots and brads

I made the stamped image by stamping the image once, then reinking rotating 180 degrees and stamping again. You'll notice the middle shape fits perfectly overtop of itself on the second stamped image.

Grateful

Here's another color combo for the Treasure Life stamp set. I'll be doing this card and my previous card at my workshop coming up.

September's SOTM

This is a card we did at my workshop this month using Caprice. We rolled the Honey ink with Chocolate before stamping. It was a huge hit with my customers.

Treasure Life

Here's my take on the stamp set. I've seen so many great entries on blogs across the blog world. This set is so versitile and can be used in a variety of different color combinations. I love it! Mine is with the More to Adore paper. The message is from the Follow Your Dreams set. Thanks for looking.

Yvonne Wickenkamp

Sept SOM Money Card
D1306 Treasure Life
Originals Card Confidence Program-
Scalloped Money Holder pg.58
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
1245 Olive Cardstock
1246 Hollyhock Cardstock
Z2128 Hollyhock Ink Pad
Z2237 Olive Ink Pad
Z2235 New England Ivy Ink Pd
Z2204 Barn Red Ink Pad
Z2110 Buttercup Ink Pad
Z2124 Grey Flannel Ink Pad
Z808 Winter Organdy Ribbon Rounds
Z1294 Sanding Kit
Z1050 Scallop Scissors
Z2128 Hollyhock Ink Pad
Z2137 Olive Ink Pad
Z2235 New England Ivy Ink Pad
Z2204 Barn Red Ink Pad
Z2110 Buttercup Ink Pad
Z2124 Grey Flannel Ink Pad
Z808 Winter Organdy Ribbon Rounds
Z1294 Sanding Kit
Z1050 Scallop Scissors
Z374 Coluzzle & Cutting System
Hole punches in various sizes
by Bren Yule bren.myctmh.com

Time to share my offering for the September SOTM. This features papers from the brand new Notebook collection and uses Desert Sand ink, a bit of twill ribbon, and a tiny Just Blooms paper flower. I just love the fact that we can choose either side of the new paper and still have a fabulous pattern!

September SOTM

The Treasure Life stamp set is really nice to work with. Here I've used it with colors Buttercup, Olive, a little New England Ivy (stripes) and Autumn Terracotta. This 5"x7" Family of Five (tm) sports a Buttercup spiral clip that has been bent in the bottom right corner.

Sorbet, Tulip, Creme Brulee Color Combination

These are 3 of 4 new colors coming out in September. The only one missing is Juniper. The stamp set Feathery Flakes, also coming in September, was also used. The Sorbet paper was scored 1/2" apart and then sanded. The 8"x3.5" card base, the Creme Brulee 1/2" piece, the white center, and the Sorbet paper were all sponged with Sorbet ink. 3-D Foam makes the center flake pop out, and bigger brads were added to the bottom to round out the look.

Today's Date

August's stamp of the month has something to offer every month of the year! This example uses the Sarsaparilla paper packet, Barn Red and Indian Corn Blue inks, and Black Hemp. When you give this card away, you can circle the special day!

Kissed Wrapped and Tied

This Wrapped and Tied (tm) 4.75"x3" card was really fun to make! I used the stamp sets Happy Birthday (words), Birthday Bash (balloon), and Spot on Backgrounds (background and kissed image on the balloon). The colors are Sping Iris, Lilac Mist, Vanilla Cream, and Desert Sand (on the balloon).

Kissing was achieved by stamping off the balloon in Spring Iris and then kissing the background stamp that had been inked with Desert Sand. Before I stamped the image on paper, I then rolled the balloon back in Spring Iris to get more color around the edges of the balloon. I stamped this twice, once on extra cardstock (to cut out image of balloon) and once on the matted cardstock. Next, I cut out the balloon and string. The balloon has 3-D foam to bring it out.

Finally, the card was finished off with natural hemp glued with liquid glass at the top of the Spring Iris background cardstock.

Imagine: Small Packages

This layout is from Imagine (pages 74-75). The right page foot and handprint had been nine 3"x3" pictures. The papers are from Whoops-a-Daisy and colors are Hydrangea and Watermelon.

Red, White, and Blue Color Challenge

Thanks to our Blue Ribbon paper packet, the colors are already done. I've done quite a bit with this same pattern yet different papers for this card.

These colors are Colonial White, Cranberry, Indian Corn Blue, and Outdoor denim. The stamp set is Angel Whisper. The Big Brad is Outdoor Denim which is in the middle of the raised flower.

The Flower is inked with Cranberry and rolled with Barn Red. "Scatter sunshine" is inked in Indian Corn Blue.






These next two cards use Holiday Red, Star Spangled Blue, and White Daisy. Same card different colors. I used strips of cardstock for the upper pattern. And for the ribbon I used white ric-rac.







And, while I've been working with the Angel's Whisper and Original's Spotlight pattern, I've also done this card using Paper Garden and Floral Tapestry paper. All different in looks due to colors, all the same pattern and stamping!

July SOTM -- Life's a Jungle

I did two versions of this card. This top card is the one I did for the swap. That one used fun flock for the mane that I dyed with Autumn Terracotta reinker (has to be done ahead of time for the fun flock to dry). I used Chocolate Waxy Flax for the accents on the side of the word and lion (I would have liked to use Natural Hemp but I didn't have enough for all of them). The edges were sponged with Autumn Terracotta ink, and the paper was Boom-di-Ada.

For this bottom card I used sassy strand for the mane and the the accent around "No Lion". The mane mainly consists of Goldrush from the Autumn Garden Collection and a few strands of Honey from the Winter Cozy Collection. The grass is the alligator's back. I used the Earth Tone Pencils to color the leaves and the lion.

Beauty in Reflection from Cherish

I thought I picked the pictures from pages 48-49 of Imagine. But imagine my surprise when I closed the book and it was Cherish! So I moved forward with the layout I was prepared for...Beauty In Reflection. I rotated each page by 90 degrees to accommodate my pictures.

The recipe called for 2 B&T papers but I didn't have any that fit the bill. I took a third cardstock and made it into B&T. I used our mat and stylus and scored a line every 1/2", then sanded the lines to have them show more. Finally I took our stipple brush and stippled the strips.

With the Breeze paper I took the matching ink pad and rubbed the paper all over. It gave the paper a muddled look. The clear buttons reminded me of bubbles (Lindsey's theme was Ariel). The really B&T paper came from Majestic Blue paper packet. The font was CTMH Girlfriend that I printed out on vellum paper.

June SOM

July Stamp of the Month -Gail

Gail created this card...very nice job.

July Stamp of the Month -Aisha

Used the file folder coluzzle, boom-di- ada paper, hemp cord, spiral clip and chocolate ribbon. Stamped images then colored them in with chalk. I love to color!

The Leader of the Pack...

Ok, so I'm supposed to be the ring leader here. The one that sets the example. The one that does all the challenges... sadly I had to take a break because life was busy and I've struggled to get back on track... but I'm coming back now and I'm ready to go.

I took my picture with my cell phone, but at least I did it!!! Our group has new challenges and we're ready to go in July. I'm posting a little early just to get the show on the road!!

Here's my July Stamp of the Month submission.

Stamp set: D1285 Life's a Jungle (14 images/sayings) and oh so stinkin cute!! I think it's my favorite from this catalog.

I used the Boom-Di-Ada paper pack and colored the elephant with Hollyhock Ink. To color the elephant, I stamped the image and created a stencil by cutting the image out with a craft knife. Then I sponged the elephant with hollyhock ink.

Enjoy!

June Stamp of the Month

Just playing around with a color challenge and used our June Stamp of the Month. The colors I used are topiary and buttercup. The background is from the spot on backgrounds. I stamped it in white daisy and then embossed it in white. I embossed the flowers in white on white cardstock and sponged the color in with sponge daubers. The base cardstock is some old, old Close to My Heart craft paper that we used to carry. I think it was called Husk. I wish we still carried it! I used some tiny strips of topiary and buttercup to make a faux ribbon. I paper pierced it and then used a white gel pen to make it look like stitching.

Thanks for looking,

Yvonne Wickenkamp

Whoops a Daisy and Decorative Dainties

This super simple card showcases the beauty of chalk popping and the ease with which layering can add so much to your creation. With the border prints featured on the Whoops a Daisy paper, you can create different looks with each card you make.

June SOTM-True Fit Folio 6x6 Mini Album

Here's a fun project made from a True Fit Folio. Inside, there is a single 6x6 memory protector and with that and the additional surfaces, you have plenty of room for pictures and journaling! This one has been created using the June SOTM-With Love and Whoops a Daisy papers. In addition, the background of the front flap is stamped tone on tone with Hydrangea and one of the images from the Decorative Dainties set. It then features doodling in white! The vase is tricolor thanks to making your own "inkpad" with reinkers and a piece of felt. The crushed paper flowers and stamped Just Blooms add dimension. Fun, fun, fun!

Layout: Supporting Cast

This layout was done for a recent workshop. I thought my daughter's birthday party worked well with this layout. Her theme was unicorn so I made cupcakes and each year we take a picture with a stuffed animal lamb to mark their growth. The colors are Hydrangea and Watermelon. The paper is Whoops a Daisy. And the stamp set is June's stamp of the month, "With Love." The layout comes from Imagine.